Chapter 10: Pull a Big Stunt

Returning to the Lotus Pond villa in the evening, Zheng Shuqing again had the beautiful maidservant brew tea, but Fang Chongyong was so tired he was almost asleep, his face drooping as he dozed sitting on a high stool.

Zheng Shuqing lightly waved his hand, signaling the maidservant to leave.

"Today you've been wandering around, have you come up with any ideas?"

He was rather impatient; the pressure of three hundred thousand strings of cash is not something ordinary people can bear. Like Fang Chongyong, he was also exhausted, but only mentally.

"There's definitely a solution, and I'm walking on my own two feet."

Fang Chongyong rubbed his eyes while saying, a bit impatiently, "Zheng Shuqing is too talkative and not at all calm—it's just three hundred thousand strings, after all."

After the An-Shi Rebellion began, the court randomly levied donations from the wealthy in Chang'an; even when they failed to meet the target, the amount exceeded this!

"This is nonsense—who isn't walking on two feet?"

Zheng Shuqing looked at Fang Chongyong with a face full of contempt, retorted irritably, and didn't bother to keep up his image; his speech was quite coarse.

He always felt that Fang Chongyong acted unpredictably, completely beyond his grasp!

"Alright, alright, I say it's still not okay?"

Fang Chongyong rubbed his temples while sighing, "There are two methods to be used together, but for now only one method can be employed."

"Then why don't you say it?"

Zheng Shuqing's eyes lit up; he almost wanted to slap the table and jump up.

"It's simple—I saw plenty of shipyards in Kui Zhou, and quite a few people engaged in repairing and building ships. I inquired; the vast majority of ships in Shu come from Kui Zhou. If we sell ships, we can basically raise three hundred thousand strings."

Fang Chongyong said with little interest, as if speaking of a trivial matter.

"Selling ships? Have you looked into the prices of ships? Do you think I don't know what ships cost here in Kui Zhou? Are you treating me, the prefect, like an idiot?"

Zheng Shuqing shouted while pounding the table, already beyond anger.

"No, no, I'm thinking—if each ship sells for one thousand strings, we'd only need to sell three hundred ships. Kui Zhou is a strategic point; could we really not sell three hundred ships in half a year?"

Fang Chongyong said indifferently, as if he were talking about selling a few catties of meat.

Besides, in the Tang dynasty, places like Yangzhou produced over three hundred large ships per county per year! As for this, as long as the materials are ready, construction is quick.

Meanwhile, Kui Zhou is the shipbuilding center of Shu, with a long history and strong technical prowess, many generations of shipbuilding artisans! With three hundred sixty-five days a year, that averages to just two ships a day.

Fang Chongyong thought it was nothing but a drop in the bucket.

"In Kui Zhou, a ship worth two or three hundred strings is already impressive; larger ones simply can't pass through Kui Gate! Have you even considered this?"

Zheng Shuqing roared at Fang Chongyong, spit practically flying onto his face.

The Tang dynasty's shipbuilding industry was highly developed—let alone a hundred strings; on the wide waters of the lower Yangtze, some large ships can hold over three thousand people, even grow vegetables on deck, while a thousand strings can only build a lonely little boat!

But that has nothing to do with Kui Zhou, because those large ships simply can't come up here—their draft is too deep, making them prone to run aground in the Three Gorges. Zheng Shuqing's point is a matter of common sense, yet Fang Chongyong has his own idea.

He took a deep breath and said:

"Prefect, if we say a ship costs one thousand strings, then it costs one thousand strings. This is obvious—we're not selling ships, but the qualification to pass Kui Gate."

"Many ships—if they're too large, they run aground easily; if too small, they capsize easily. After passing Kui Gate, they're prone to accidents in the rapid currents, ultimately blocking the waterway—isn't that dangerous?"

"If the waterway is blocked, it affects everyone. We're now stepping forward to set a rule: what weight and what ship type are relatively safe to pass."

"We're putting our reputation on the line as guarantor, collecting a few hundred strings from them and issuing a clearance permit—is that really excessive?"

Fang Chongyong spoke with righteous confidence, leaving Zheng Shuqing stunned.

"Uh, if that's the case, why not just issue the clearance documents directly?"

Zheng Shuqing asked quietly, feeling Fang Chongyong was going overboard. Since we've already decided to pull a big stunt, why tie our own hands?

The Tang dynasty's atmosphere was open, and local officials were not lacking in those who dared to take risks.

"Prefect, if we only issue clearance documents and take money, people will report us to the court for extortion! After all, we haven't received an official document from the court; we're merely not prohibited from doing this, and there's no saying that collecting money for clearance permits is lawful."

"But we're actually selling ships—no, we're advising those merchants who need clearance to buy locally compliant ships in Kui Zhou, and we aren't taking a penny; this is official business."

"As for the merchants along Kui Zhou's shore who build ships, if they later voluntarily donate some money to the prefecture office for charitable works, we'd feel bad refusing, right?"

Fang Chongyong spoke with conviction, very confident.

"To guarantee waterway safety, only 'standard' grain transport ships may pass; this takes responsibility for keeping the waterway clear and for the personal safety of those sailing—logically sound."

"Since standard grain transport ships exist only locally, merchants can only buy 'standard ships' locally; if a standard ship meets with trouble, that's the Kui Zhou prefecture's problem, as the prefecture is acting as guarantor—this logic is also sound."

"Because shipbuilding merchants feel grateful to the prefecture office, they voluntarily donate wealth to the government; this logic is likewise unproblematic."

"Since the court needs money, Zheng Shuqing sending these funds to Chang'an or transporting them elsewhere per imperial order makes this logic even more unproblematic."

"As for the astonishing price of Kui Zhou's local standard grain transport ships, that has nothing to do with the Kui Zhou prefecture office—it's purely commercial, free trade."

"If you don't buy, you can just keep sightseeing in Kui Zhou; no one is forcing you to obtain clearance."

After winding his way through a long explanation, Fang Chongyong closed the logical loop.

Zheng Shuqing was so shocked he couldn't speak for a while; much later he asked doubtfully, "Wouldn't this provoke a popular uprising?"

"No, building that many ships keeps the locals busy enough that they're counting money until their hands go soft—who would cause trouble? Helping the prefect guard the city is about all they'd do; anyone who causes trouble would be against the whole city's populace."

"The court's ministers will probably only understand the prefect's painstaking effort many years from now. The prefect's approach will surely be understood by many in the future. Unifying the standard for grain transport ships, making them uniform, maximally ensures sailing safety. As long as the ships are the same and sail by the rules, they won't capsize or run aground."

"What does the prefect think?"

Fang Chongyong spoke at length, penetrating to the core, as if he truly possessed such grandeur and nobility.

Zheng Shuqing felt somewhat relieved, nodded slightly, and asked, "But what if it's the court's grain transport ships? There are still quite a few of the court's ships passing the Kui Zhou river pass. Should we also force them to change ships?"

Fang Chongyong: ……

This Zheng prefect is overthinking things. Just profiting from the merchants' dividends would be enough; does he really want to apply this whole scheme to the court as well?

"Prefect, there's another matter."

Fang Chongyong straightened his face and said: "Prefect, please write an official document ordering the troops of Dongyang Prefecture to come aid Kui Prefecture when the time comes. Merchant ships often have armed slaves wielding swords, spears, and clubs; if they try to force their way through, we need someone who can hold the scene. Those fifty crossbowmen of Yang Ruoxu would probably be looked down upon."

"If at a critical moment we can't control the situation and let some ships slip away, then all our previous efforts would be wasted."

"Tomorrow I'll go to the many shipyards outside Kui Zhou city to inquire about ship types suitable for passing the river pass, pick the best, solid one, and it certainly won't delay the prefect's good deed."

Hearing this, Zheng Shuqing's face showed some hesitation. If possible, he really wouldn't want to take risky military action. But for now there seems to be no better alternative—who knows whether Fang Chongyong's other 'bad idea' would work?

It might turn out that this is actually better!

"Alright, you arrange it. If you need any help, just say so—there's no turning back now, sigh!"

……

During the Kaiyuan era of the Tang dynasty, inland river shipping was already highly developed.

To safeguard the continued development of the shipping industry and strengthen water transport management, the court established a comprehensive, top‑to‑bottom administrative and enforcement body for water affairs, covering legislation, execution, and supervision—truly a three‑in‑one system!

Among them, the "Water Bureau" under the Ministry of Works of the Secretariat is responsible for legislation and administrative review of water flow and vessel navigation.

Meanwhile, the independent agency directly under the Secretariat, the "Directorate of Waterways", is a central‑level specialized water‑transport management organ outside the Six Ministries; it oversees inspection of water currents, river dikes, shipping, and bridges, and carries out most supervisory and administrative duties.

The "Water‑Land Transport Commissioner" or "Regional Transport Commissioner" dispatched by the central government is responsible for coordinating between the two, especially monitoring whether government grain transport runs smoothly.

But among these agencies there is a blind spot—something that is either not determined or deliberately left undecided.

That is the question of who collects river tolls. Different prefectures have different situations, so it cannot be generalized.

What surprised Fang Chongyong was that, within Tang territory, the collection of river tolls was mostly handled by the local prefectures themselves.

This is actually easy to understand: if the Water Bureau and the Directorate of Waterways managed these matters, they would easily come into serious conflict with local prefectural civil administration, and as central‑direct agencies they could not spare many personnel to be posted abroad.

For example, Gu Kuang is the garrison overseer in charge of several hundred mu of red‑lotus rice fields; in the whole of Kui Prefecture he is the sole centrally appointed official, while everyone else working the fields are merely tenants—there are no other court‑appointed staff, not even the low‑level clerks who manage the farmland.

Again, take Kui Prefecture: if the central‑direct agency collected the river tolls, even without staffing issues it would greatly weaken local finances.

Because aside from river tolls, Kui Prefecture has virtually no other revenue; the total toll revenue far exceeds the local grain, labor and tax levies, and is almost an order of magnitude greater than commercial taxes.

Wouldn't these checkpoints end up overriding the main purpose? Wouldn't they cause chaos in local finances? Wouldn't they be resisted and hampered by local officials?

The answer is obvious—it cannot be avoided. The court's choice is also pragmatic: manage things however works best.

If we exclude the matter of collecting river tolls, this is a complete water‑transport management system, and it even elevates water‑transport management to the legal level, fully implementing a safety‑focused water‑transport regime.

Some of these regulations are already as detailed as those Fang Chongyong knew from his previous life.

For example, before setting sail or while underway, boatmen must constantly inspect their vessels for seaworthiness, ensuring the hull is watertight; if leakage is found, it must be promptly eliminated to avoid navigation accidents and keep the vessel in good condition.

Furthermore, after mooring, vessels must display markers so that passing ships and travelers can identify them. While underway, ships and rafts must yield to each other; at rapids and shoals, if upstream and downstream vessels meet, the upstream vessel must give way to the downstream one—especially on the Yangtze, where rapids are prominent, this rule must be strictly enforced to prevent reckless racing and accidents.

If these rules are not followed, the boatman will be punished with fifty strokes of the cane.

All these provisions are extraordinarily detailed.

However, the ideal is plump, the reality is scrawny.

The Tang central government's strategy is excellent, and the arrangements are not without ingenuity, but… manpower seems insufficient; the policies devised cannot be truly implemented. The phenomenon of vessels capsizing and sinking in the rivers remains frequent, everywhere to be seen.

Because the Directorate of Waterways, responsible for executing water affairs, has a total nationwide staff of fewer than four hundred officials—precisely 362.

Even this count includes bureau chiefs and clerks; the number truly able to go to the grassroots and get things done is even smaller.

Yet the Tang realm is vast, with far more than a hundred rivers! If we rely only on these people to handle those tedious tasks, even working from dawn to dusk without sleep or food they could never finish.

Therefore, the local prefectures where the river sections lie have taken on the task of "assisting" in river management. In other words, the Directorate of Waterways never goes to the grassroots; it merely periodically receives reports from the local prefectures.

The personnel of the Directorate of Waterways are stationed at key nodal cities and work there—for example, the major cities of Jiangling, Yangzhou, and Luoyang.

Specifically here in Kui Prefecture, there are simply no Directorate of Waterways officials managing things; everything is "fully delegated" to the Kui Prefecture government office. Who let the prefectural seat sit right next to the Jiang Pass of Kui Prefecture? Zheng Shuqing stays silent—who would dare to reach out and interfere?

The duty of apprehending smugglers and intercepting river vessels is carried out by Yang Ruoxu and his militia as a side job; aside from Yang Ruoxu holding a military post, the others are merely temporary workers, and this work is hard with little profit—often they spend three days fishing and two days drying nets.

As long as no ships break through the checkpoint to evade taxes or large vessels capsize and block the channel, they generally do not deploy.

That morning, Yang Ruoxu posted a notice at the ferry landing outside Kui Prefecture city, had his men beat drums and gongs, and then blockaded the Jiang Pass of Kui Prefecture—no vessel was allowed to pass!

On the wooden board where the notice was posted, a large sheet of paper was attached, bearing the following words:

New court regulation: to ensure waterway safety and prevent vessels from capsizing or running aground, only ships of designated types and designated cargo capacity may pass the checkpoint!

For details, please inquire at the prefecture office gate!

If anyone forces their way through the checkpoint, they will be treated as bandits.

Upon seeing this notice, the merchant shippers were all dumbfounded. While Kui Prefecture's port can indeed stockpile goods, one cannot simply stay there indefinitely; if they cannot clear the checkpoint on time, the consequences may not be huge, but they are certainly not trivial.

Merchants kept coming to the prefecture office, only to find the gate already piled with people.

Notices were posted all over the outer wall of the office; a crowd squeezed there to look, and many later arrivals could not push their way in.

"The Shu River currents are swift; vessels are prone to capsize and even more likely to run aground and block the channel. The court's new policy, effective immediately, requires that all grain ships passing the Jiang Pass be uniformly regulated, with the Jiang Pass of Kui Prefecture issuing a unified clearance certificate. One ship, one certificate; no certificate, no passage."

"For those rushing to clear cargo, each vessel must post a security deposit of five hundred strings of cash; if a new ship is commissioned for the next clearance, the deposit can be refunded against the clearance permit. If no further clearance occurs within a year, upon expiry the Kui Prefecture office will reclaim the deposit."

"Alternatively, the cargo may be completely unloaded and the empty vessel allowed to pass, with the cargo treated as lost or wrecked; or the cargo may be first unloaded, then after a new ship is built, the vessel may be swapped for the new one to clear the checkpoint."

"Around the Kui Prefecture city there are shipyards where vessels can be built; to keep the first‑come, first‑served order orderly, one must first go to the prefecture office to complete clearance formalities and receive a number plate, then with that document and plate go to the shipyard to order a standard grain ship. The shipyards will build in sequence; violators will have their construction qualifications revoked by the office. If merchants privately build ships and then apply for clearance documents, the office will not issue them."

"This checkpoint has instituted a red‑list system: those who force their way through, commit wrongdoing within Kui Prefecture city, privately build ships, or forge clearance documents in an attempt to sneak through—once verified, they will permanently lose clearance eligibility."

What new regulation is this? This is outright extortion and forced sale!

"Corrupt officials extort and plunder; we'll go out sailing and fight them. I don't believe they can stop everyone!"

A burly man in a green silk robe raised his hand and shouted loudly. Suddenly, an arrow shot from afar pierced his throat!

"Anyone else daring to cause trouble—he's the example!"

Stout and clad in leather armor, Wang Zhongsi stepped out of the prefecture office, still holding his bow‑drawing posture, not lowering his horn bow. Behind him, a dozen or so heavily armored prefecture soldiers formed up, ready to face the enemy.